Global stainless steel output reached 33.6 million metric tonnes during Jan-Sep '16

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): According to recent statistics published by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), the global stainless steel production increased by 7.0% during the initial nine months of 2016, in comparison with the corresponding three quarters in 2015. The stainless steel melt shop production during the third quarter of the year dropped marginally by 2.9% when matched with Q2 2016.

The total stainless steel output during the initial nine months of 2016 amounted to 33.585 million metric tons, higher by 7.0% when compared with the output of 31.397 million mt during Jan-Sep ‘16. When compared with the production during the quarter before, the stainless steel output during Q3 2016 has declined by 2.9%. The global stainless steel output during Q2 2016 had totaled 11.827 million mt as compared with 11.488 million mt during Q3 this year.

The production in the Western Europe/African region was up marginally by 0.40% to total 5.762 million mt during the first nine months of 2016, in comparison with the production of 5.738 million mt during the corresponding nine-month period in 2015. The Central/ Eastern European region’s production dropped when matched with the previous year. The output registered decline of 4.6% over the previous year to total 189,000 mt. The region had produced 198,000 metric tons of stainless steel during the initial nine-month period in 2015.

The stainless steel output by the Americas has increased slightly by 1.5% during the initial nine-month period of the year to 2.178 million mt. This is when matched with the production of 2.146 million mt during the corresponding nine-month period last year. The Chinese output increased significantly by 11.4% year-on-year during Jan-Sep ’16 to 18.083 million mt. The stainless steel production by China had totaled 16.238 million mt during Jan-Sep ’15. The output by the Asian region excluding China too reported growth of 4.2% over the year. The stainless steel output totaled 7.372 million mt during first three quarters of 2016 as against the output of 7.077 million mt during the initial nine months of 2015.

The stainless steel production during the third quarter of the current year by Western Europe/Africa dropped significantly by 14.0% to 1.761 million mt when compared with the prior quarter. The region’s stainless steel output had totaled 2.047 million tonnes during Q2 2016. The quarterly output by Central/Eastern Europe region edged higher by 2.3% quarter-on-quarter to 63,000 mt when matched with the production of 61,000 tons during the second quarter of 2016. The Americas and Asian region excluding China witnessed quarter-on-quarter growth of 13.0% and 3.4% respectively. The Chinese output in third quarter of the current year declined by 3.5% over the previous quarter to 6.319 million tonnes.

The production in the Western Europe/African region had totaled 1.955 million tonnes in Q1 this year. The Central/ Eastern Europe had reported total stainless steel production of 65,000 tonnes. The output by the Americas had totaled 642,000 tonnes during that quarter. The first quarter output by China had totaled 5.213 million tonnes, whereas the Asian region without China reported 2.395 million tonnes of output during Q1 this year.

About ISSF

The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) is a non-profit research organization, which serves as the world forum on various aspects of the international stainless steel industry. ISSF was founded in 1996.